The Alternatives to Using a Bank

There are different places to keep your money that you not include a checking or savings account.

Photo provided by 401(K) 2012 via Flickr

Have you been wanting to do your banking business on a more personal level? Or, are you having trouble getting a checking account? If so, here are some alternatives you can chose from to manage and hold your money.

Prepaid Debit Cards

Prepaid debit cards are one of the best alternatives to a checking account. Not only can you manually load your cash on them, you can also have your pay directly deposited on most of them. If you have a prepaid debit card endorsed by a retail store, the business may allow you to cash checks in-store for free.

Visa, MasterCard, American Express Gift Cards

If you do not want to keep up with cash at home, or in your wallet or purse, purchase a gift card. Visa, MasterCard, or American Express gift cards can be purchased and loaded with cash at many different retail locations.

PayPal

PayPal may be the top choice when it comes to not having a bank account. However, you will need to have a bank account at first in order to open a PayPal account. This is so that you can allow PayPal to send money to the account to verify your information.

Unlike in its initial stages, you can now get a debit card to go to your PayPal account. Also, if you have good credit, PayPal has a credit card to offer you through MasterCard.

Google Wallet

Google Wallet is another great banking alternative. The program's app can be downloaded through the Google Play or iTunes store markets.

Unlike PayPal, you do not need a bank account to get started. Instead, you can link a prepaid debit card or gift card to your Google Wallet account.

Or, you can buy a Google Play gift card and it will automatically sync the money to your Google Wallet. Just make sure that you have a registered Gmail account.

Like PayPal, Google wallet also has a unique debit card to offer you. One of the best features of Google Wallet separating it from PayPal and even banks is that you can store your loyalty programs.

Piggy Bank or Safe

Last but not the least, if you like to see all your money, you can keep it in a piggy bank or safe. However, make sure that you have a piggy bank of some type or safe large enough to hold all of your money.